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Saturday, July 25th, 1970 in Aberdeen, Scotland
Following the 'bible reading', Mr Gardiner invited Stanley McCallum and Mr and Mrs James Lovie to join them for dinner. The meetings were suprisingly short and all returned early to the Gardner residence.
"Mr. Taylor went straight to his room and Mrs. Ker followed him through a short time afterwards. S. McCallum and the Lovies arrived. We sat round talking and had a meal. JT Jnr and Mrs. Ker did not put in an appearance..."
- James A. Gardner (Host)
Ted Steedman states:
The conduct of her husband and self after that could never be supported. There has been much said about plots, etc. (J.L.'s presence and Stanley McCallum's) but this was innocent entirely. It came from Bob Gardiner's suggestion that Stanley's presence, (Jim spoke well of him the day before) might help to ease Mr. Taylor away from his obsession with the sisters. The fact that Mrs. Kerr had been prevented from being with him at the break seemed to crack something in Mr. Taylor, hence the last session on Saturday when he fooled around when brothers prayed at the start and close of the reading. The reactions to this can be heard on the tapes, as the tapes were recorded. He constantly used abusive and vile language and created a kind of mass hysteria which was almost beyond description.
When Mr Taylor returned to James Gardner's house he went to his bedroom and was followed by Mrs. Kerr. Stanley McCallum and Mr. Lovie with his wife joined us for a meal as arranged. The atmosphere was a bit tense, as we in the house were aware that Mrs. Kerr was with Mr. Taylor, which fact was not disclosed when first Stanley McCallum arrived. Then J. Lovie asked A. Kerr where his wife was. He said "she is resting." An hour or two passed in conversation and a number of enquiries were made as to when Mr. Taylor would appear and when Mrs. Kerr would appear. Alan Kerr diverted all enquiries about his wife. Stanley McCallum said, "There is something wrong in this house." Bob Gardiner said quietly to James Gardner “I think we should tell him what has been happening".
He was taken aside and told that Mrs. Kerr was spending most of her time in Mr. Taylor’s bedroom and with the background of other events, the brethren were concerned about it. Stanley McCallum asked the husband as to it but he refused to intervene. James Gardner then said in the hearing all of us. "I am responsible for what happens in my house and the time has come for me to know what is happening”.
- Ted Steedman
James Gardner continues:
"... and I felt I had to find out what was happening in my house. I went through to Mr. Taylor's bedroom and found Mrs. Ker undressed and in bed with Mr. Taylor. He had on his pyjama top which was open down the front..."
"I remonstrated with Mr. Ker and asked him to get his wife out of there and had asked S. McCallum. to come back to the bedroom with me and witness the situation. Stanley McCallum and I both witness to the fact that JT Jnr and Mrs. Ker were in bed undressed together. Stanley McCallum asked JT Jnr if this was right and he said "Yes". Stanley McCallum pointed out that it was "unsuitable, uncomely and not morally right". JT Jnr said to him "The devil is in you and I have to get him out. You've been wrong all your life." Stanley McCallum said, "What would Renee say?" His reply was "I suppose you will tell her."
- James A. Gardner (Host)
The reference to 'Renee' refers to Mrs. Irene (Stevens) Taylor, the 2nd wife of the EB Leader. Toward the end of JT Jnr's 'ministry', Mrs. Irene Taylor refused to accompany him. She was known to be embarrassed by the behavior of her husband and would often profess to feeling unwell in order to remain at home.
"He knocked on Mr. Taylor's door and said he was coming in. (Much has been said by Mrs. Kerr and others that the door was open and nothing was hidden). That was not so. The door was closed but could not be locked - a fact that Mr. Taylor, in my presence, earlier complained of. James Gardner was definitely shocked at finding Mrs. Kerr in bed with Mr. Taylor, her clothes on a chair at the bedside. He challenged Mr. Taylor with the rightness or otherwise of his conduct. JT Jnr claimed he was pure. When the clothes were referred to, he said, "You can't prove they are her clothes."
Stanley McCallum at that juncture said he was leaving the house and went out to a car with Mr. & Mrs. Lovie. James Gardner's wife and another sister pleaded with him to come back, Mrs. Gardiner weeping and saying "Don't leave us Stanley. Please don't leave us like this." Stanley McCallum said to me, "I will come back in because the sisters in this house are nearly hysterical”. (I can say this now with all the talk of ambush etc. dear brother, the Lord was never in all the suffering the sisters went through. I don't think they will ever get over it.)
James Gardner then asked Stanley McCallum to come with him as Mr. Taylor wouldn't listen to him and Stanley McCallum put it to Mr. Taylor that it wasn't right to be in bed with another man's wife, adding, "What would Renee say?" to which JT Jnr said, "I suppose you will tell her."
- Ted Steedman
"... Stanley McCallum and the Lovies then went away. Alan Ker was fully consenting to what his wife had done and I decided that to protect my house I had to put the Ker's out. Mr. Taylor insisted that he was going out with them and said "She is my woman."
We prevented him from leaving with the Ker's; this was because we wanted to protect him. Stanley McCallum, Jim Lovie and Bob Gardiner had gone to Glasgow to get James 3rd off the 1:20 a.m. flight. JT Jnr became very difficult, calling me "bastard", "son of a bitch" and to "all go to hell."
I had to send for Dr. Bill Thomson who had been attending to him for the last three or four weeks. JT Jnr became very quiet when Dr. Thomson arrived and he was given an injection and tablets. Dr. Thomson said that medically he was a sick man, but the moral side is a matter for the priests."
- James A. Gardner (Host)
'James 3rd' was the son of the EB Leader, known as James Taylor III.
Dr. Bill Thompson is reported to have diagnosed 'alcoholic dementia' following his examination of JT Jnr.
Both J.A.G. and S. McC. were very shaken by what they had witnessed but I never saw anything but concern to help our brother and S. McC. said, "We must be careful not to charge our brother with fornication, but what he is doing is unseemly and is not Christian conduct."
J.A.G., S. McC. And J. Lovie phoned James 3rd. J.A.G. spoke once or twice to all of us to go and see JT Jnr and Mrs. Kerr in bed but we felt there was adequate witness. None wanted to witness one we respected in such dishonour.
J.A.G. after some time asked Mrs Kerr to come out of the bed and said that the Kerrs were to leave his house. I heard JT Jnr reply, "If she goes, I will go. That's my woman." but J.A.G. told JT Jnr to stay. He, J.A.G. then prevailed on A. Kerr to get his wife out of bed and go.
Tom Bennett arrived at the house about then. His reaction was to go in where they were still in bed and use the javelin, but I told him that the matter was covered as it was committed to New York. It was late by the time the Kerrs went and Tom Bennett and J. Gray held Mr. Taylor back as they felt he was not in a fit state to leave.
Whatever has since been made of this incident, I'm sure it was done to protect JT Jnr I heard Jim Gray tell JT Jnr that loving hands were holding him. J.A.G. went for Dr. Thomson as JT Jnr had said earlier that he was treating him, and when he came in he gave him an injection and told him to stay in bed which he obeyed.
When James 3rd arrived JT Jnr was very docile, but the medical treatment quietened him and in some way it may have given James 3rd an idea that J.A.G. was exaggerating.
- Ted Steedman
And the 'man of God'?
"Mr A.K. had said to me that his wife wanted to wash my feet, to which I agreed. He also suggested she might assist me after the meetings each day in rubbing my head and massage. He brought her in that night, they had to go through most of the rooms of the house to get to my room – there were many helpers besides the host and hostess who saw them come to my room.
The second night was the same only there came a knock on the door and in came the host with S.McC. and J.Gray.
S.McC. says, “What’s that?”, points to the sister (nurse) lying on the bed. He says “Corruption”. He points to some clothes on the flor and again says, “Corruption”; the host aggress. I said to S.McC., ‘”You are a bastard, a liar”. Alan Ker had also come in and he told S.McC. that he was charging his wife with corruption. He said she was a pure woman.
They all left and Alan Ker and his wife went out expecting me to follow to get the charter flight.
On the way out Mrs Ker was called a demon and they were told they could sit on the street all night.
Alan Ker waited 1½ hours for me to come out, thn they left to go to a hotel.
The reason I could not come out was that two brothers would not let me out of the room. This lasted for 1½ to 2 hours when there came a knock and the doctor came in.
The doctor gave me some injections as he had been doing and then said, you are going home because you are sick? I said no I am not sick and asked him if he knew what was going on in this house. He said no, so I said I would not spread evil by telling him.
The host came in with some pills and I asked where Alan Ker was, and he said he did not know. He said James 3 was coming. Soon James 3 came and I asked why he came because I was to meet him at London airport.
-James Taylor Jnr
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